Carbon sequestration in plant roots via enhanced suberin (cork) production

Overview

This solution addresses climate change by engineering crop plants to sequester carbon in their roots through enhanced production of suberin, a highly stable, carbon-rich biopolymer naturally found in plant border tissues. By overexpressing suberin-associated MYB transcription factors specifically in root periderm tissue, the technology enables crops such as maize to lock away atmospheric carbon in a durable form underground, without disrupting water or nutrient uptake that occurs in primary and lateral roots. Suberin is resistant to microbial decomposition, making it an effective long-term carbon storage medium with potential to transform agricultural lands into significant carbon sinks.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Suberin biosynthesis activation: Overexpression of MYB-type transcription factors (MYB41, MYB53, MYB92, MYB93) that act as master regulators of suberin production
• Root periderm-specific expression: MYB53 coding region fused to a root periderm-specific promoter, targeting secondary growth tissue where carbon storage will not interfere with primary root function
• Multi-species applicability: Validated in Arabidopsis and applicable to maize (major North American crop) and Brachypodium (model grass)
• Comprehensive upregulation: Transcriptomic analysis confirms that all known suberin biosynthetic enzymes are upregulated upon MYB53 overexpression
• Stable polymer deposition: Suberin is a multi-layered polymer composed of glycerol, phenolics, and fatty acid derivatives, providing highly stable carbon storage

The research team was the first to discover master regulators of suberin biosynthesis, demonstrating ectopic suberin synthesis and assembly across multiple plant species and cell types.

Technology readiness level

The technology is currently at an advanced research stage with strong foundational validation. The team has demonstrated that MYB transcription factors can dramatically upregulate suberin production under non-stress conditions, confirmed both chemically and microscopically. Triple loss-of-function mutants (myb53 myb92 myb93) show corresponding downregulation of suberin biosynthetic genes, validating the regulatory mechanism. Next-stage validation involves constructing root periderm-specific MYB53 expression cassettes and introducing them into maize and Brachypodium using established transformation protocols at the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center. The solution is ready for collaborative development toward field-ready crop lines.